


Rinse and Repeat

by Chumbie



Category: Hunter X Hunter
Genre: (well domestic-adjacent i guess. i dunno these two are kinda disasters you know how it is), Character Study (?), Domestic, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Mild descriptions of blood, Nonbinary Kurapika (Hunter X Hunter), Post DC arc
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-24
Updated: 2019-07-24
Packaged: 2020-07-19 04:57:02
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,614
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19968397
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chumbie/pseuds/Chumbie
Summary: A brief look into the domestic lives of Kurapika Kurta and Leorio Paladiknight.





	Rinse and Repeat

**Author's Note:**

> My first "official" fanfic on AO3 (no the joke ging x beans one doesn't count). You can find me @ratbastardging on tumblr. Big thank you to the lovely Emily @adhdleorio for teaching me how to use this site and for all my mutuals who have supported me thus far. Love you!

By the time Kurapika came home from work, it was completely dark outside. This wasn’t necessarily surprising, since it was winter and the days had been becoming shorter and shorter, but they usually would have gotten home an hour or so ago. They seemed to recall Leorio saying that they were going to be cooking dinner tonight instead of ordering takeout (like the two had been doing nearly every single day for the past week), so they knew a lecture about punctuality was imminent.

Kurapika pulled out their keyring from their pants pocket and fumbled around for the key to their apartment. The keyring had been a birthday gift and included a photo of them, Gon, Killua, and Leorio encased in a plastic shell. It was cheaply made and ready to fall apart at any minute, but they couldn’t bring themselves to throw it away.

After locating the key, Kurapika jammed it into the lock and turned, opening the front door. As the door opened, the smell of various aromatics wafted through the air.

“Kurapika? Is that you?” Leorio yelled from the kitchen.

For a little over a year, the two of them had been living in Kurapika’s Yorknew apartment. Kurapika didn’t like to use the word “penthouse” as they thought it was pretentious, but that really was what it was. It had two floors and came fully furnished with state-of-the-art appliances and furniture. The apartment was originally meant to be a “go between” for Kurapika if their job required them to be in the area, but they never ended up using it. That is, until they started dating their boyfriend, Leorio.

The two had only been officially together for barely a month before Kurapika offered Leorio to move in with them. Since the university Leorio was attending was on the outskirts of town and the apartment was just sitting there unused, Kurapika figured this was the most practical decision. As for Leorio, the choice was simple. Either move in with his partner in a swanky, upscale loft free of charge, or stay in his cramped 1-bedroom 0-bathroom apartment (if you could call it that) with a landlord that he was fairly certain hated his guts. He chose the former. Besides, he already knew Kurapika for what- 5 years? It’s not as though they could surprise him at this point. Or, so he thought.

“Yes, it’s me.” Kurapika replied.

The sound of Leorio's footsteps on the hardwood floor became louder and louder as he approached the front door.

“If you’re going to be late for dinner, I would appreciate a heads up-”

His face nearly turned blue. There at the front door stood Kurapika; clothes stained with blood, loafers in hand, looking like a deer caught in the headlights.

“I can explain…”

This was not the first time Kurapika had come home with blood-soaked clothing (“perks” of the occupation), but it was a sight that Leorio was not yet used to. He quickly rushed over to their side.

“Are you alright?” Leorio said, frantically rolling up the sleeves of Kurapika’s dress shirt in order to locate the source of the blood.

“I’m fine, Leorio. It isn’t my blood.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?!?”

“I had a job that needed to be done.”

Leorio let go of Kurapika’s arm and let it drop down to their side.

“I thought you said you were done with that stuff.”

‘That stuff’ referring to mafia-related odd jobs (the same jobs that were responsible for putting a roof over their heads, Kurapika might add).

“I thought I was. This just… happened.”

In reality, the story was more complex than that, but Kurapika figured that explanation would suffice for now.

Leorio was about to say something, but he stopped himself before he was able to form the words and instead let out a deep sigh. If anything the years had taught him, is that he needed to be patient and level-headed in these kinds of situations.

“Go draw yourself a bath. I’ll check up on you a little bit.”

“Leor-“

“I’m not going to let you track blood in the house. Can you please just do this for me?”

They sighed. “Alright.”

Kurapika made their way to the master bathroom. The bathroom (like the rest of the apartment) was excessive- it had two sinks, a toilet, a whirlpool tub, and a separate shower stall. In all the time that Kurapika had lived there, they had never once used the bathtub before.

They turned the faucet handle all the way to the right. It always took a while for the tap water to warm up, but when it did it would come out scalding hot. Leorio would always get on their case about how hot water costs more than cold water and how much they’d be saving money by switching to cold showers, but since it was ultimately Kurapika who would be paying the water bill, they ignored him. Besides, they would rather die than take a cold shower.

When the water became satisfactorily warm enough, Kurapika pushed the drain down, allowing the tub to start to fill. As the water ran, they set out a bath towel on the ledge of the sink and began to undress.

“What a shame” they thought. “These were my favorite pair of slacks”.

They wadded their clothes into a ball and threw it into the hamper.

Once the bathtub was filled to the brim with water, Kurapika cautiously lifted themselves into the tub so as not to spill water all over the floor (Kurapika hated wet floors). As they entered, they were instantly hit with a wave of pure, unadulterated serenity. There was something so healing about being surrounded by warm water. They leaned their back against the wall of the tub and reclined. For a moment, Kurapika had completely forgotten that their body was covered in someone else’s blood.

About 10 or so minutes later, Leorio entered the room.

“Hey. How are you doin'?”

“I’m fine, thank you.”

“Can I get you anything?”

“Could you hand me the soap from the shower stall? The one with the blue label?”

He retrieved the soap and handed it to Kurapika.

“Are you gonna turn on the jets?"

Kurapika shook their head. “I don’t think I’ll be partaking in any jets today.”

“Well, if you’re all good here, I should get back to the kitchen. Door open or closed?”

“Actually… I was wondering if you could stay.”

“Stay?”

“Just for a little bit.”

“You know we can’t both fit in that tub if that’s what you’re getting at, right?”

“I meant to talk.”

“Well, I _guess_ I could stay for a few minutes.”

“I appreciate it.”

Leorio rolled up his sleeves, grabbed a hand towel from a linen cabinet, and doused it in bathwater. He took the rag and began to blot it against Kurapika’s arm, adding more pressure to the areas that had more apparent, caked on stains.

“I can do it myself; you know.”

“I know you can, but I can do it too.”

It’s hard to believe that when they first started dating, the slightest touch from Leorio would have sent a sharp jolt throughout their system. It wasn’t that they repulsed by his affection then, of course. It’s just that the sensation was so new to them- rather, it was not a new sensation- just one that they had not felt for a very, very long time. Over time however, Leorio had managed to wear down the walls that surrounded Kurapika’s body. Now, his touch felt like second nature.

“How was your day?” Kurapika asked.

“Pretty good.” He took a seat on the outer edge of the tub. “I talked to my old med school professor and she said she’d be willing to give me a recommendation if I needed it.”

“Really? That’s great.”

“Yeah! I really think that recommendation will give me the edge I need for when I start job-hunting.”

“Anything else?”

“Gon called me this morning.”

“Oh?”

“He said he wanted to know if we had any plans this spring. He wants the gang to meet up again.”

“Hmm. Tell him we’ll think about it.”

“You don’t want to go?”

“I don’t know… it’s been so long since I’ve seen the kids. I feel guilty.”

This was true. It had been a fairly long time since they had last seen Gon, Killua, Alluka, or Kalluto. They would talk on the phone and occasionally send pictures, but it wasn’t the same as physically being there with them. They had made plans to go out and see them, but something always seemed to come up at the worst possible moment. Kurapika began to worry that the kids might have begun to resent them for their absence.

“I’m sure they understand”

“I hope so…”

Kurapika drifted off into space for a few moments, but was brought down to reality once Leorio spoke up.

“Hey- want me to wash your hair?”

“That would be nice, actually.”

He got up and took a cup from one of the cabinets. The cup came from a cheap bathroom essentials kit that was supposed to be for drinking or gargling water but neither of them ever used it.

Kurapika’s hair was not very healthy. It was dry and lacked a shine. It was better than how it used to look as they began to take better care of themselves, but it was far from perfect. Leorio didn’t pay it much mind, however. It was not as if he were a judge at a show dog competition analyzing a dog’s pelt for its luster. Besides, his hair was far from perfect too- the number of dandruff related hair care products would attest to that.

Leorio poured the water over Kurapika’s scalp, guiding it down with his hand so as to not get into their eyes.

“I’m assuming you don’t want to talk about your day.”

Kurapika knew that Leorio hated to be left in the dark regarding their daily exploits. It wasn’t so much that he was concerned for their wellbeing- which he did, of course- it was moreso an issue of being open- something Kurapika had struggled with even before the two had started dating. Kurapika had been trying to make an effort and change this, but it had been a really, _really_ long day. The amount of energy it would take to recount it would have been immense.

“I’d rather not, no.”

Leorio let out a quiet, defeated sigh and refilled the cup with bathwater.

“You know… I haven’t taken a bath in years,” Kurapika said. “It’s nice.”

“You shower though, right?”

“Very funny.”

“I thought it was”

“Come to think of it, I think the last time I had a bath was when I was a child.”

Leorio dispensed a handful of soap onto the palm of his hand and began to gently lather it into Kurapika’s hair.

“My mother would wash me in this large basin we would use for laundry. She’d also sing to me.”

“Sing?”

“Mhm. Songs in Kurta. They were quite beautiful. It’s a shame that I can only remember parts of them.”

“So, I take it that your mom was a good singer?”

“Quite the opposite actually. She sang like a cat scratching on a chalkboard.”

Leorio chuckled. “That bad, huh?”

“Her heart was in the right place.”

“I’m sure it was. Close your eyes for a sec.”

He dumped the bathwater onto Kurapika's head, causing the soap suds to dissolve upon contact.

“Hey uh. What was she like? Your mom, I mean. Obviously you don’t have to answer if-“

“No, it’s fine. Really.” Kurapika opened their eyes and paused to think. Had they really not told him anything about their parents before? “My mother? Let’s see… well, she was loud- that’s for sure.”

“Louder than me?”

“I don’t think it’s possible for a person to be louder than you, dear.”

“What else?”

“She was really brave and determined. She was a woman who knew how to get what she wanted and wouldn’t back down until she had it.”

“A woman after my own heart.”

“She was funny too. She could always manage to cheer you up when you were down”

“And your dad?” Leorio asked while running his fingers through each strand of their partner’s hair.

“My dad was the opposite. He was reserved and quiet. He didn’t like to make waves, if possible.”

“A pacifist, then?”

“Mhm. He was very kind. And smart. Very smart.”

“A real gentle-giant type.”

“Yes, exactly.”

“I wish I could’ve met them.”

“I do too…” Kurapika smiled.

“You think they’d like me?”

“Like you?” Kurapika thought to themselves. “They’d _love_ you”. They would have loved Leorio so much it probably would have infuriated them. All the gossiping and shit-talking sessions he and his mother would have partook in, all the lectures their dad would give him about some benign topic while he just sat there only half-listening- not to mention the fact that he was training to be a doctor? For gods’ sakes, their parents would have personally filed the marriage paperwork the moment he showed up on their doorstep.

“Hm… I think you’d grow on them.”

“That’s good to hear.”

Kurapika glanced over at the pile of dirty, blood covered clothes that sat in the hamper.

“Do you think we’ll have to throw away those clothes?”

Kurapika yielded to Leorio’s judgement as one of the household chores Leorio was responsible for (the two tried their best to split the chores as evenly as possible) was laundry. This is partially because the last time Kurapika did laundry, they ended up turning all of Leorio’s dress socks pink on accident.

“Nah, I can probably get the stains out. At this point, I’ve gotten to be quite the expert at getting out blood from clothes.”

“I don’t think that is something to be proud of.”

“Well maybe if you stopped coming home looking like you came back from a slaughterhouse, I wouldn’t have gotten so good at it.”

He was right, but Kurapika didn’t want to admit it.

“I think I’m ready to get out now”

Kurapika lifted up the drain and stood up. Leorio offered his hand and helped prop them up and out of the tub.

“Leorio?”

“Hm?”

“You know that I love you, right?”

He stroked their cheek.

“Of course I do.”

“I’m glad.”

“I would bend over and kiss you right now, but I don’t want to get wet.”

“Then can you at least hand me the towel I left out?”

“Certainly.”

He whipped the towel over his arm like a waiter might and extended his elbow so Kurapika could take it from him. Kurapika rolled their eyes at this gesture, much to the delight of Leorio. As they dried off, they began to smell something strange.

“Um. Do you smell something… burning?”

“Yeah, actually I d- SHIT!”

Leorio bolted out of the bathroom.

“What’s the matter?”

“I FORGOT ABOUT THE PAELLA” he yelled from across the house, followed by the sound of metal crashing.

“Should I get something delivered?”

Leorio ran back to the bathroom, oven mitts still on and slightly out of breath.

“… Do you really need to ask?”

And so, for the fifth night in a row, Leorio Paladinknight and Kurapika Kurta ordered takeout once again. The day had been rather eventful, to say the least, but for the two of them, this sort of fast-paced lifestyle was normal. They would never be able to know what the next day would bring them, but they took comfort in the knowledge that, no matter what was thrown their way, they’d be able to face it together.


End file.
